Hey guys. Well I recently got some 315 75 16 Guard Dog Treadwrights. I got them with normal rubber (non kedge grip) and I was planning on running them in the non snowy/icy six months of the year here in Saskatchewan. They are made with full truck grade rubber and do not have much siping, so I figured they would be fine for my non snowy/icy needs. However I was planning on getting a set of 315 75 16 Duratracs (lots of sipes) and getting them studded, then only running them on the snowy and icy six months of the year (follow? ). This is due to the fact that I had 33x12.50x15 Toyo Open Country M/T's last winter which sucked HARD on the ice. Sliding around...hoping you come to a stop before you rear end a vehicle. Downright scary stuff, and after Nathan totalled off his truck (mud tires and ice) I vowed to not have mud tires again in the winter.

Now...this brings me to the case at hand. When I got my 315 75 16 Guard Dogs...they are pinned for studs! This is not advertised on there website. So then I thought to myself. Hmm...if I got another set of these with kedge grip, and got them studded...how well would that be on slick Saskatchewan roads? Anyone have experience? Basically the duratracs would be $1250 and the guard dogs would be around $800. But I am just wondering what would be best to run in order to have winter traction and not be white knuckled all the time.

Since I am already making a thread...is it harmful to take tires on and off rims? I only have one set of rims and I plan on swapping the tires every six months.

Thanks for any replies!

 

I've run my Duratracs through one winter and they did GREAT! We had a hell of a winter this year (I'm just off Lake Huron). I didn't get stuck once and I was 2wd for most of the winter as my front shaft was out. No complaints whatsoever!

 

Ive heard good things about the Duratracs in winter , but the treadwrights would probly be a good tire to, but if u can stud ur tires out that way they'd both work out fairly well, and as far as i know it dose not harm ur rims to take tires off, but y not just get a set of steelies for the winter they are pretty cheap

 

I'm not so concerned about ploughing thro snow and not getting stuck. I can be pulled out if that happens. I am more concerned about ice traction. Getting started and being able to stop when I want to

 

If you have the cash, BFG All-Terrains T/A's are cats ***!! If you're on a budget, Goodyear Wrangler Territories are just as good as the BFG's, just a lot cheaper!! Don't know what the CT deals are like in SK, but here in ON, Canadian Tire always has them at 1/2 price sales.

I've ran both with no complaints. I had 2 sets of BFG's and the GY's were on it last. Never got my 2wd stuck in winter driving on the unplowed back roads.

 

I haven't had any experience with the Territories but I've had BFG All Terrains as well as my Duratracs... and the Duratracs are a much better winter tire!

 

FWIW. (i live right across the water from you guys)I love my BFG's. i only turned my 4x4 on this winter when i was messin around. i only needed it during snowpocalsype and one other time (doing 45 down the interstate during a blizzard)

 

To the OP
Ditch those wide tires and get skinny rubber. All that surface area will cause the truck to float over slick ground. Skinny tires concentrate the weight of the truck in a smaller area and give better traction.
Think of the old "bed of nails" bit . A wide bed spreads out the weight.
And for ice , studded is the only way to go.

 

I would love too. But I would also like to keep my fenders filled up. If they made a skinny 35 inch tire that was good in winter I would take it. 35x9x16 studded winter tire. That would be amazing

 

Go to the states, my duras were $880. Of course that is a 31. 35's would be more.

 

I checked on tirerack...315 duratracs were 1150 shipped. Plus taxes and duty prolly brings them to 1250. I can get a set at Canadian Tire for 1200 plus tax...so 1320. Consider the at least $70 it would take to drive down and pick them up. I will probably just go the Canadian Tire route

 

Well, if you buy them in the states and install them over there. It saves you cash.

 

Unless you get caught at the border...in which case...bad news. Whats the cheapest place to get 315 Duratracs down there?

 

I dunno about that far east. I got mine at discount. I have been told if you tel customs that your original tires were damaged and you had to buy them to replace it then becomes a necessity and they can't charge you duty. Look into it though.

 

Even if you do get caught... it's not that bad. I bought a set of Exclaims for the Mazda and declared them on the way back and it was $53 duty including the few other things I bought.

 

Sometime you get lucky as well... the first set I brought back they just said "have a nice day".

 

Hmm...still I have to drive to the states. Not cheap

 

Could you just go down a little smaller to a more common size?

 

I think I will just get the 315 75 16 Duratracs and stud them. I am hearing good things about them and I am a very cautious winter driver so ... should work

 

I was just meaning for the price... if you could go down a size or two it should be a fair bit cheaper!

 

Man, you guys are trippin me out!! I'm from Florida an my first time driving or even seeing snow was last Christmas in New Hampshire, an the roads were nothing but ice an snowing HARD!! I was driving her Lexus LS300 with the traction control on an it wasn't that bad. But within the next couple months we plan on moving up there. I just have an 01 ranger-3.0,AT,4x2 with regular street tires!! If I just take it easy an go slow should I be alright?? I've had many, many years of wheeling in the mud, but I don't think it's the same in any way!! What's your opinion??

 

Far different than mud... not sure how much show you'd get there but if you have to just use your regular tires get some weight in the bed and think about putting in a limited slip diff if you don't already have one!

 

Up here sometimes it can be like skating. You hit the brakes and slide to a stop. You gotta make sure you slow down WELL in advance...or else some skrunchy munchy body metal mayhem will happen. Also last year with mud tires it was not uncommon for me when trying to back out of a slightly downhill angle parking space...to put it in reverse and have my back tires spin while idling...that was always an embarrassment. So this winter....studs. I want to go when I want to go and stop when I want to stop

 

I've seen them use studs on Motorcycles when they were racing on a frozen lake on TV. They were showing them putting them on. They looked like basically screws with special heads that they screwed into the tires, but they were brand new tires. I imagine they have to be so the stud doesn't go in to far an pop it. How many do you use per tire an how much do the studs run? I imagine it would depend on the tire as to how many you would use. Just want to have all the info I need so I don't have any Crunches!! Thax all!!

 

You also have to look into of they are legal on the roads where you are looking to move. Some use studs, some chains.
The duratracs are a good winter tire. If you were 4x2, I'd get those and a L/S like Adam mentioned. Those plus some weight and you should be ok. Also get a tow strap and a couple D rings. They could come in handy too.